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Stable isotope ( 13 C/ 12 C and 15 N/ 14 N) composition of the woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis horn suggests seasonal changes in the diet
Author(s) -
Tiunov Alexei V.,
Kirillova Irina V.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.4755
Subject(s) - rhinoceros , french horn , isotopes of nitrogen , stable isotope ratio , fauna , herbivore , isotopes of carbon , chemistry , ecology , zoology , biology , total organic carbon , physics , quantum mechanics , acoustics
Abstract The extinct woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis is a prominent member of the Mammuthus‐Coelodonta faunal complex, but its biology is poorly known, partly because very few specimens with well‐preserved soft tissues have been discovered to date. However, the permafrost‐preserved horns of the woolly rhinoceros are recording structures which contain isotopic records of the diet, environmental conditions and physiological status of the animal during most of its life. In this study we report the first data on the pattern of carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C) and nitrogen ( 15 N/ 14 N) isotopic composition along the nasal horn of woolly rhinoceros. We found systematic variations in δ 13 C and δ 15 N values associated with morphologically expressed transverse banding of the horn. The comparative analysis of isotopic variation in keratinous tissues of extant and extinct herbivores suggests that the oscillation in isotopic composition of the horn was induced by seasonal changes in the diet. Although the compiled evidence is in part contradictory, we suggest that more positive δ 13 C and δ 15 N values associated with dark‐colored and less dense zones of the horn indicate a summer diet. More dense and light‐colored zones of the horn have lower δ 13 C and δ 15 N values possibly indicating a larger proportion of woody and shrub vegetation in the winter diet. The validity of these conclusions has to be proven in further investigations, but our data underline the potential of isotopic analysis for studies on diet and habitat use by extinct members of Pleistocene fauna. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.